Summary
2023 was a bad year for video game layoffs. 2024 is far worse. Last year, more than 10,000 employees in the games industry lost their jobs, and this year, by July,an estimated 11,500 peoplehave already been let go.
It’s a plague in the space, caused by a mixture of unrealistic development cycles and the need for lines on a graph to be constantly rising.
However, a formerPlayStationboss has denied that the thousands of layoffs have been caused by corporate greed, and has said that those laid off should “drive an Uber or whatever,” or “find a cheap place to live and go to the beach for a year.”
Former SCEE President Chris Deering Comments On Industry Layoffs
Speaking on Simon Parkin’sMy Perfect Console Podcast, former Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Chris Deering had his say on the innumerable redundancies that have affected the lives of tens of thousands of people.
Deering, who played a major role in the release and subsequent marketing of thePlayStation 1andPlayStation 2, said, “I don’t think it’s fair to say that the resulting layoffs have been greed,” adding, “If the money isn’t coming in from the consumers on the last game, it’s going to be hard to justify spending money on the next game.”
He goes on to say that he doesn’t think that “having a skill in this area is going to be a lifetime of poverty or limitation. It’s still where the action is.” However, Deering follows this up by saying, “You’re going to have to figure out how to get through it. Drive an Uber or whatever. Find a cheap place to live and go to the beach for a year.”
The comments by Deering are particularly tone-deaf given that Sony themselves have been one of the worst culprits for layoffs in 2024. Earlier this year,the company laid off 900 employees, or six percent of its workforce, shuttering London Studio in the process. This was followed up by a further 220 people being let go by Sony-ownedBungie, while CEOPete Parsons kept his collection of classic cars.
Deering does share that he’s optimistic about the future of games and that the industry moves in cycles; however, it’s hard to feel that way when so many people are out of work and are competing for such a small pool of jobs.
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 was launched in 2020 as Sony’s next-gen console, armed with an SSD and the new DualSense controller. Disc-based and digital models are available, and it supports the new PS VR2 virtual reality headset.
